PIA News Service - Wednesday, September 18, 2013

BUTUAN CITY, Sept. 18 (PIA) - The Department of
the Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Caraga is spearheading the
celebration of this year’s National Filipino Week celebration on September
20-27.

This year’s celebration is anchored on the
theme, “Unity Across Generations: A Strong Family, A Strong Society. The
Filipino translation is Nagkakaisang Henerasyon: Matatag Na Pamilya, Matatag na
Lipunan.”

“The theme aims to bring all social groups,
particularly vulnerable groups, and individuals into the political, social,
cultural and economic structures of a society so that they can participate in
the decision-making process and improve their access to opportunities. On the
other hand, intergenerational solidarity relates to reciprocal care, support
and exchange of material and non-material resources in families, typically
younger and older generations,” said Aldie Mae Andoy, Social Welfare Officer of
DSWD-Caraga.

Andoy also said that the Regional Inter-Agency
Committee on Filipino Family (RIAC-FF) shall undertake the following activities
for the week-long celebration: Radio plugging; Holding of Family Day Program
with contests/games and mini-concert depicting family cohesiveness; Search for
Talentadong Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries; and the conduct of Regional
Parents’ Education Congress through a forum of ERPATs/Father leaders of
Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program.

Presidential Proclamation No. 60 dated September
28, 1992 and Executive Order No. 241 dated June 9, 1995, declared the
observance of the National Filipino Family Week on the last week of September
and every year thereafter. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)

DSWD-Caraga to hold 2013 Reg’l Parents'
Education Congress in Butuan

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

BUTUAN CITY, Sept. 18 (PIA) - In time with this
year's National Filipino Family Week celebration, the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) Caraga will be holding the Regional Parents'
Education Congress on September 24 through a forum with the father-leaders of
the department's Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Ms. Aldie Mae Andoy, Social Welfare Officer III
of DSWD-Caraga, said the objectives of this activity are the following: 1) to
strengthen family unity and relationships through promotion of Filipino family
values; 2) to enhance and strengthen parenting capabilities of Filipino fathers
in performing their tasks and responsibilities on how to handle and manage the
behavior of their children especially adolescence stage; and 4) to help fathers
develop gender sensitivity and appreciation of partnership with their spouses
in promoting and enhancing family life by strengthening a positive and
satisfying marital relationship, preventing violence in the home and promoting
shared parenthood and planned family size.

Invited speakers of said congress will talk on
the spiritual aspect on enhancing family relationship and how to deal and
manage the behavior of children especially in adolescence stage.

Andoy further said that other activities for the
week-long celebration of the National Filipino Family Week also include the
following: Radio plugging in partnership with the Philippine Information Agency
(PIA) Caraga and local partner broadcast media; Holding of Family Day Program
(including wellness services/hataw exercise and mini-concert) with DSWD
employees, persons with disabilities and senior citizens on September 20; and
the Search for Talentadong Pantawid Pamilya.

This year's celebration is anchored on the theme
"Unity Across Generations: A Strong Family, A Strong Society. The Filipino
translation is Nagkakaisang Henerasyon: Matatag Na Pamilya, Matatag na
Lipunan." (JPG/PIA-Caraga)

BUTUAN CITY, Sept. 18 (PIA) - The members of the
Consumer Network (ConsumerNet) from government agencies and private
stakeholders have planned several activities for this year’s Consumers’ Welfare
Month celebration in October.

The ConsumerNet is led by the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) Caraga headed by Regional Director Brielgo Pagaran.

The celebration will kick-off on October 1 with
a motorcade around the city. It will be followed with a short program at the
D&V grounds, J.C Aquino Avenue near DTI-Caraga regional office.

A forum on water and electricity will also be
held with consumers from different sectors in the city.

Another activity to be held is the Consumer Meet
the Press and a regional quizbowl to be participated in by students of several
schools.

Other partner stakeholders are also encouraged
to initiate their own activities related to the celebration.

Meanwhile, the ConsumerNet will meet again for
the finalization of the activities. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)

DSWD-13 chief lauds efforts of partner
stakeholders

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

BUTUAN CITY, Sept. 18 (PIA) - The Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Caraga lauded its partner stakeholders
in their efforts and undertakings in initiating and implementating programs and
services for the marginalized sectors in the region.

This is in time for the joint meeting of the
Regional Inter-Agency Committee on Senior Citizens (RIAC-FF), Regional
Coordinating and Monitoring Board (RCMB), and Regional Council on Disability
Affairs (RCDA) with DSWD.

Regional Director Minda Brigoli said it is a
great opportunity to experience working with the stakeholders in the region and
be able to witness their dedication and commitment to provide and implement the
programs and services for the senior citizens, persons with disabilities and
other marginalized sectors.

"Definitely, DSWD will support the
stakeholders from the government, non-government organizations, civil society
organizations, and academe who are initiating and implementing programs for the
persons with disabilities which include women and children and senior citizens,
among others. Collaboration with our partner stakeholders is very important
factor in sustaining the services for the marginalized sectors in the
community," she said.

"We salute our partner NGOs (non-government
organizations) and CVOs (community voluntary organizations) who are legit, and
are heartily working for the benefit of these sectors - children, women,
persons with disabilities, and senior citizens. We always want to work
harmoniously with them," added Brigoli.

Brigoli also assured the public that the DSWD
will continue to do its best to provide the programs and services for these
sectors. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)

DOST to conduct Fiberboard Production Training
in Tago

By Nida Grace P. Barcena

TANDAG CITY, Sept. 18 (PIA) - The Department of
Science and Technology - Provincial Science and Technology Center (DOST-PSTC)
in Surigao del Sur is scheduled to conduct a Fiber Production Training on
September 24-25 in Tago, Surigao del Sur.

The activity aims to train farmers on the skills
and techniques in coco fiber board production and to help them gain additional
income and promote economic activity and employment within the community using
coconut husk.

The beneficiaries of the training are the
members of the Tago Agro-Industrial Development Cooperative and some identified
stakeholders.

Experts from the DOST-Forest Products Research
and Development Institute will facilitate the training. (NGBT/PIA-Surigao del
Sur)

Save Mount Mayapay advocacy gains support from
FSUU alumni

By Johny S. Natad

BUTUAN CITY, Sept. 18 (PIA) - Members of the
Father Saturnino Urios University High School Alumni Association (FSUU-HSAA)
have pledged to support the environmental advocacy to save and protect Mount
Mayapay.

FSUU-HSAA President Minnie Mary Rose Tiu
Dumanhug, in an interview, said the alumni strongly supports the ecological
conservation of Butuan’s world and natural heritage, Mount Mayapay.

“We commit ourselves to support the
environmental advocacy of PIA-Caraga to save Mount Mayapay. As part of our
commitment, we will be organizing a signature campaign in cooperation with
other concerned environmental groups,” Dumanhug said.

Dumanhug said the environmental signature
campaign, which supposedly started last September 14 during a university
celebration, was postponed.

“We will be talking again with alumni officials
and other environmental groups to finally set schedules and needed preparations
for the environmental signature campaign to save Mount Mayapay soon,” she
added.

"We cannot wait for another devastation
like what happened in Ormoc and Legazpi and just let our tears do the talking
when the time comes. The status of Mayapay is a clear and eminent danger if
quarrying operations as well as other environmental destruction will continue.
All these must come to an end and we shall all help campaign for this cause
otherwise the destruction will bring us deeper than 6 feet way down
under," Torralba said.

Torralba encouraged his fellow alumni and the
people of Butuan and Agusan to support the advocacy and act to save Mount
Mayapay.

“We, Filipinos must protect Mt. Mayapay - the
symbol of the aspirations and dreams for progress and unity of Butuanons and
Agusanons who belong to one of the oldest pre-historic communities in the
Philippines. The threat of its extinction has been hovering over us, and
getting worse over decades of neglect and inaction. Thus, if we want our environment
to be preserved and our cultural heritage to be conserved, we should support
any well-planned movement to urgently reverse the deterioration of our mountain
caused by man’s greed for nature’s wealth that really belongs to the state and
to the people,” Torralba said. (JSN/PIA-Caraga)

Agusan Norte solon files bill to protect Mt.
Mayapay

By Eldie N. David

BUTUAN CITY, Sept. 18 (PIA) - House Bill No.
2900, seeking to establish the Mount Mayapay Natural Park (MMNP) and protect it
from further degradation, has been filed in Congress.

The bill entitled: An Act Establishing the Mt.
Mayapay Natural Park (MMNP) Situated in Butuan City and the Municipality of
Buenavista in Agusan del Norte, As Protected Area, Providing for its Management
Pursuant to Law, And for Other Purposes was filed by Agusan del Norte first
district Rep. Lawrence “Law” Fortun amid several poaching and illegal
activities in the esteemed plateau which caused its deterioration.

In his explanatory note, Fortun emphasized that
“the bill seeks to conserve and protect the unique biodiversity resources of
Mt. Mayapay, a prominent natural landmark in the Caraga Region.” The highland
“is a magnificent mountain located East of Butuan City, considered the range’s
highest peak with an elevation of 2,214 feet above sea level, with a plateau
formation that is the predominant feature of the city’s backdrop.”

The mountain “was a vital watershed in the
environs of Butuan City and the Municipality of Buenavista, Agusan del Norte
until it was abused by loggers and poachers.”

Fortun further explained in filing the bill that
“at present, the ecosystem of Mt. Mayapay has been invaded, assaulted and is
now highly endangered, threatening to extinction whatever few remaining endemic
flora and fauna thriving in the area. Moreover, experts have expressed alarm
that if nothing is done to arrest its continuous degradation, landslides that
may claim thousands of lives are not remote given the fact that the mountain
lies along the fault line.”

Among the additional reform provisions of the
bill include: the inclusion of enumeration of prohibited acts within the
natural park to cover quarry, mining, logging, etc.; provision on stiffer
penalties for violations of the law; requirement of an act of Congress in the
modification of the coverage of the law due to such factors as changing
ecological situations or new scientific or archaeological findings; inclusion
of a specific provision on the establishment of buffer zones; revision of the
definition of tenured migrants and fixing of the other provisions relative
thereto to prevent speculators from circumventing the law and legitimizing
their illegal occupation; provisions to further strengthen the PAMB and for a
transparent, consultative and participatory administration and management of
the natural park; provision for the creation of an ExeCom within the PAMB to
whom may be delegated some of its powers and functions to ensure consistent,
continuous and sustained management and administration since the PAMB meets
only quarterly and provision for more security in the utilization of the MMNP
fund to prevent misuse and abuse.

Fortun also took note of the people’s sentiments
who strongly “voiced out their concerns on the sad state of Mt. Mayapay and the
real threat of a forthcoming destruction of lives and properties should its
devastation continue. Various sectors have taken initiatives calling for the
protection and conservation of this glorious mountain, however, activities
contributing to its further deterioration have continued due to the lack of a
law that ensures its protection, rehabilitation and conservation.”
(FEA/PIA-Caraga)

More than 100 pupils from NAMES, QES elementary
school receive school supplies

By PINSP Tessiel R. Moleta

SURIGAO DEL NORTE, Sept. 18 (PIA) - More than
100 pupils received assorted school supplies during the school caravan held
recently at the Navarro Memorial Central Elementary School (NAMES) for Muslim
Pupils (Madrasah) and Quezon Elementary School (QES) in Barangay Quezon, all in
Surigao City.

The activity is line with the 19th annual
celebration of National Crime Prevention Week and Peace Month celebration with
the theme, “Malasakit Mo ay Kailangan, upang Krimen ay Maiwasan.”

During the activity, the Police Community
Relations Office of Surigao City headed by Police Insp. Tessiel R. Moleta also
conducted an information drive on crime prevention and Republic Act 9262 or
Violence Against Women and their Children (VAWC).

In her message, Quezon Elementary School
Principal Susan Lipang expressed her gratitude to the donors who made a
voluntary commitment to share their blessings and time in providing school
supplies to the less privileged but deserving pupils and to the city Philippine
National Police (PNP) personnel for a very informative and helpful information
drive.

"Such activity is truly an act of heroism,
wherein public and private sectors of the society join hands in making a
difference to help the pupils to be vigilance at all times and encourage them to
study for their future and for the future of our country as well," Lipang
said.

The activity was spearheaded by the Surigao City
PNP, Fruitful Harvest Ministry, Compassion for the Fatherless and Junior
Chamber International - Surigao Wensie. (SDR/Surigao City PNP/PIA-Surigao del
Norte)